President Roger Hull closed this week's conference on
Upstate campus-community partnerships by announcing the formation of
a consortium to foster relationships between business,
government and higher education to strengthen the civic and
economic roles that upstate institutions play in their communities.
Though the consortium has not been fully developed,
Hull indicated that Robert King, chancellor of the State
University of New York, would be involved.
Hull said the group could use some of the ideas discussed
at Tuesday's sessions to promote the upstate economy and attract
and retain the best possible workforce. Among them were
business incubators linked with colleges and universities,
mentoring programs, partnerships with the native countries of
foreign students and taxation authorities such as Schenectady's Metroplex.
Hull cited Metroplex as an idea that is replicable
throughout the state. “It might be an example for Buffalo, Utica or
Rochester,” he said.
In the closing keynote, Randy Daniels, New York Secretary
of State, told the audience that
colleges and universities will
be the economic drivers that bring the state out of its
current recession. “In the past, there has been a disconnect between
the campus and the community.”
The two-day conference was sponsored by Union, the
State University of New York and the Commission on
Independent Colleges and Universities.